Individual investments can be as small as USD 15,101 making it affordable enough for almost anyone to invest. With a large number of investors, each one incurs little individual risk, making it attractive for semi-professional or first-time investors. Entrepreneurs must submit their projects to a crowdfunding website, define the investment target, set the deadline for funding and list the reward to investors. The amounts raised by crowdfunding can vary from USD thousands to USD millions.Start-up companies in various sectors (e.g. real estate, consumer products, technology) typically use crowdfunding, but it can also be employed to support investment in broadband infrastructure. Crowdfiber is a crowdfunding platform designed to raise funds to invest in high-speed broadband in communities across the United States. It allows communities to advertise their campaigns and collect funding,102 and a more advanced version is available to service providers103. According to an industry survey report from Massolution,104 crowdfunding was expected to reach USD 34.4 billion globally in 2015, jumping from USD 16.2 billion in 2014. Of the amount raised in 2014, 59 per cent was in North America, 21 per cent was in Asia and 20 per cent was in Europe. The risks associated with crowdfunding will vary by the type of platform, the company or project receiving the funds, along with the amount invested. Crowdfunding can be categorized into three types: donation, equity and debt.• Donation crowdfunding carries the risk of committing funds to a project that may not materialize.• Equity crowdfunding investments can face the risk of lack of liquidity, equity dilution or loss of investment if the company defaults.• Debt crowdfunding is subject to risks such as loss of investment and interest payments.Financial regulation plays a very important role in making crowdfunding accessible. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in March 2015 that it will be possible for non-accredited105 investors to invest using equity crowdfunding. Investors in donation crowdfunding tend to be driven by personal motivation. They are likely to have a connection to the company, brand or project being financed. In some cases, the reward from donating is just the personal gratification of contributing to a cause or project. In other cases, the investor may have access to privileges such as a discount or free access to a service or product.In equity crowdfunding, investors receive an equity stake in return for the investment. Entrepreneurs define the amount of equity stake for the target funding, and investors’ corresponding equity shares will depend on how much they invest in the project. The crowdfunding platform may actually recommend investment opportunities considered most attractive for that particular investor. This service can help investors decide on opportunities that have already gone through a filtering process.In debt crowdfunding, the investor lends funds to a company and expects this amount to be returned, plus interest, by a fixed date. \"Mini bonds\" are a type of debt crowdfunding approach that recently has been made available to potential investors. Typically, more established companies use debt funding, although examples of such financing are still rare. It is possible that as debt crowdfunding matures, companies will use it to develop Internet-based services and applications.Case study: Star Citizen, USA This case study shows how donation crowdfunding can successfully attract investment through crowdfunding platforms as well as through a company website. Start Citizen is a video game that can be played online in a multiplayer mode. The game developer (who owned his own company) initially failed to convince private investors to invest in the video game’s development. He then turned to crowdfunding, with a goal of raising up to USD 2 million. He hoped that this stake would then demonstrate to private investors that there was demand for the game, convincing them to contribute an additional USD 12 million106.The developer used the Kickstarter online platform and his own company’s website. The benefit of using the website was an ability to avoid paying fees to crowdfunding platforms. Kickstarter, for example, will charge 5 per cent of total funds raised plus payment processing fees. Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2016 31 Chapter 1